Sati
Sati was a tradition performed in Hindu funerals. Nowadays it is practiced very rarely and considered a serious criminal act in India. The ritual included a dead man’s widow throwing herself on her husband’s funeral pyre attempting to commit suicide. This act was supposed to take place voluntarily, and from the history of previous accounts, most of them were. In some communities, the act was naturally expected of widows. However in modern times, a matter of debate was whether any social pressures were exerted on the widows. The main principle of this act was that little was expected of a woman’s life after the death of her husband, especially if they had no children. However, there were many times where the widow’s decision to commit the act of Sati was not welcomed by others, and where they tried to prevent the death.
